Truck



Dec. 30, 1924.

G. RIMMER TRUCK Filed DeG- 13, 1919 Patented Dec. 3), 1924.

UNITED STATES GILBERT RIMMER,

l innata rATEurorFice. f

OF WIGAN,`ENGLAND, ASSIGNORHTOSULLIVAN MACHINERY COM- PANY, A CORPORATION OF MASSACHUSETTS. v

' TRUCK.

Application filed neeember'ia, Isla-"serial No. 344,732.

' (GRANTED UNDER THE PROVISIONS 0F THE vAer. or MARCH' 3, 1921, 41 STAT. L., 1313.)

To all whom t may concern: A

Be it known that I, GILBERT RIMMER, a subject of the King of England, 4residing at Wigan, in the county of Lancaster, England, have invented certain'new and useful Improvements in Trucks (for which I have filed an application in England, Sept. 21,

to the bottom in such a manner as to adaptV it to use in narrow vein work in entries, and especially to service on narrow gauge tracks where ythere is little head room, a condition most often encountered in English mines. A still further object of my invention is to provideimproved and ,simplifled means for loading and unloading the machine and forl moving the truck with the machine thereon from place to place, especially Aadapted to English mining conditions. These and other objects and advantages of my improved construction will, however, hereinafter more fully appear.

In the accompanying drawings I have shown for purposes of illustration one embodiment 'which my invention may assume in practice.

In these drawings,-

Fig. 1 is aside elevation -of a truck equipped with my improvement and showing a mining machine about to be loaded thereon.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the truck with the mining machine in transport posit-ion thereon. i

In this illustrative construction I have shown a truck frame 1 which may be of any usual type adapted slidably to receive a mining machine 2, herein -illustrated as of the so-called Longwall type.

In my improvement it will be observed that the truck frame 1 is provided at each side of the same, and herein within the lines thereof and substantially beneath the center of gravity of the machine when the latter is in transport position on the truclgwith slidable, track engaging supports 3, herein a plurality of semi-circular and preferably longitudinally spaced members, as shown, rigidly connected by suitable connections', such as bolts et, to the under side of each side member of the truck frame 1. As shown, each 'of these members 3 is also Vprovided with flanges 5 adapted to engage the inner edges of the rails 6' of the` mine track and thereby retain the truck frame 1 in the desired guided relation to the rails as the truck frame slides longitudinally of the latter.'

It will also lbe noted thatIhaveprovided upon the rear end of the truck frame 1v a sheave, preferably centrally locatedl and in the form of an idler 7- as shown,` and Vro-v tatable on a horizontal axis 8. This sheave is herein adapted to be engaged by the flexible feed member 9 of a machine (herein in the form of a chainv illustrated by Vthe usual chain line), and to cooperate therewith during loading or' transport. In loading,'the free end of the flexible feed member 9 is extended, as shown in Fig. 1,

from the feed operating member. 10 on the machine, around the sheave 7, and attached l to an abutment in rear of the machine, here- Vinrin the form of-ahook 11 locatedrbeneath the rear end ofthe frame 1. As a result, when the feed member 10 is set in motion to draw in the feedmember 9, the truck will be tilted, as shown, about vits front support 3 yand the machine will be' fed along the feedingmember and up the inclined truck frame into transport position thereon, the truck dropping back into full engagement with the rails when that position is reached. During transport, the fiexible feed member 9 is extended, as shown in Ilig: 2, 4around thepsheave 7' and under the truck frame 1 'to a suitable abutment in advance thereof, herein'in the form of a jack 12 which securely Vattaches the front end of the member-9 to the bottom, the construction being such that when the .feed

operating member 10 of the machine is operated to draw in its feed member, the truck is slid alongV the rails toward the jack in any of lits successive positions along the track, and yunder the guidance ofthe flanged Ymembers 3 In unloading, "it-,will also be'evident'that by simply extending the feed member from the feed operating member l forward along the side of the machine and above the truck frame to a forwardly located abutment, suchY as the hooks 13, and then feeding the machine along the member 9 and relative to Vthe truck, the machine may be readily unloaded when desired, ythe truck then tilting auto- A matically about its front support 3 to facilitate 'this operation.

As a result of my improved construction, it will be observed that it is possible to provide 'a truck of an exceedingly simple and rugged construction which is adapted to use in loading, transporting, or unloading a machine in narrow vein entry work, and especially to such work where the track is narrow gauge, the height of the truck, and therefore the over-all height of the machine when mounted in transportpo-sition thereon, being'reduced materially, i. e. a distance equal to more than half the height of the wheels on those wheel mounted trucks heretofore produced for such service, and this without in any way interfering with the desired roadv clearance. It will also be observed that through my improved loading, transporting, and unloading means, it is possible to load, transport, or unload the machine with facility. Attention is also directed to the fact that I have provided an exceedingly simple and rugged mecha nism which is adapted to be manufactured atv small expense, These and other advantages of my improved construction will, however, be clearly apparent to those skilled in the art.

lVhile I have in this application specifically described one embodiment which my invention may assume in practice, it will be understood that this form of the same is shown for illustrative purposes and that the invention may be modified and embodied in other forms without departing from its spirit or the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim as new and desire to secure byrLetters Patent is:

l. Ina truck, a truck frame adapted to receive a mining machine, and track engaging supporting transport skids beneath said frame. Y

2.' In a truck, a truck frame adapted to receive a mining machine,'and rail engaging supporting and guiding transport skids beneath said frame.y

3. In a truck, a truck frame adapted to receive a mining machine, and flanged rail engaging transport skids supporting said frame. Y Y

4l. In a truck, a truck frame adapted to receivea mining machine, and flanged rail engaging transport skids beneath theV sides of said frame.

l In a truck, a truck frame adapted to receive a mining machine, and flanged sub` stantially semi-circular rail engaging supporting transport skids beneath the sides of said frame.

6. In a truck, a truck frame adapted to receive a mining machine and having laterallyy spaced side members, and a plurality of flanged longitudinally spaced rail engaging supporting transport skids beneath each side member of said frame.

7. In a truck, a truck frame movable over a trackway and adapted to receive a mining machine having a flexible feed member, a feed member engaging sheave rotatably mounted on a transverse axis at the rear end of said f 'ame and so disposed that during transport said feed member may be directed around said sheave and beneath said truck frame to an extraneous point in advance thereof, and a feed member abutment to which the feed member is adapted to be attached during loading of the machine onto the truck frame. Y.

8. The combination with a mining machine, of a truck frame adapted slidably to receive said machine, and a plurality of rail engaging flanged skids longitudinally spaced and disposed beneath the'sides of said truck frame and substantially beneath the center of gravityof said machine when the latter is in position on said frame.

9. In a truck, a truck frame adapted slidi ably to receive a mining machine, and a plurality of longitudinally spaced rail engaging transport skids disposed beneath each side of said framer and in rear of the front end thereof, the front skidsbeing adapted to form a tilting axis for the frame during loading of a mining machine.

10. In a mining machine truck, a truck frame having longitudinally disposed guides adapted to receive a mining machine having a flexible feed member, a feed member guide disposed on a transverse axis adjacent the rear end of said frame a-nd adapted to direct said flexible feed member beneath said frame, and a feed member abutment disposed onV said frame adjacent said guide.

ll. In combination, a miningk machine truck adapted slidably to receive a mining machine thereon and movable over a trackway, a mining'machine on said truck having a flexible feeding member, and means for propelling said truck over the trackway and by the power of the mining machine thereon whereby said flexible feed member may be Vextended beneath said truck from the rear end thereof to a fixed point in advance thereof.

12. In combination, a mining machine truck adapted slidably to receive a mining machine thereon and movable over a trackway, a mining machine on said truck having a flexible feeding member, and means for propelling said truck over the trackway by the power of said mining machine including a guide at the rear end of said truck Whereby said flexible feeding member may be ex# tended beneath said truck from the vrear end thereof to a fixed point in advance thereof.

13. In combination, a truck frame adapted slidably to receive a mining machine, supporting means for said frame, a feed member engaging sheave rotatably mounted on a transverse axis at the rearend of said frame, a feed member engaging abutment disposed beneath the rear end of said frame, and a mining machine von said frame having a flexible feed member disposable rearwardly and around said sheave to said abutment or from said sheave beneath said frame to a point in advance thereof, andV means for fixing the free end of said feed member when disposed in the latter relation.

14:. The combination with a mining machine having a flexible feed member, of a truck frame adapted slidably to receive sait"- machine, flanged skids longitudinally spar-ei` and disposed beneath each side thereof andV substantially beneath the center of gravity of said machine when on said frame, a feed member engaging sheave centrally located at the rear end of said frame and rotatable 'I GILBERT VRIMMER. 

